sports

The first-stage matches of the 2024-2025 DPRK male and female premier league that opened in December last year were rounded off.

The recent league matches, which were held at Kim Il Sung Stadium and Sosan Football Stadium, were attended by ten-odd male and female teams respectively.

The April 25 Team, one of the domestic powers in the country,  took the leading place in the male division for the first-stage matches of the league matches.

A remarkable thing in the team’s matches is that it did not lose even a game with six wins and five draws in eleven matches.

Fans, especially, rooters of the team hope that the results of the first-stage matches would lead it to victory.

This is not the first time for the team to witness such a result.

The team did not lose even once in the first-stage matches of the 2017-2018 DPRK premier league and the first- and second-stage matches of the 2018-2019 DPRK premier league. And such results would result in its victory in the league finals.

Experts say only the results of final matches will prove whether the first-stage results would result in its final victory.

The coaches and players of the team agree with such comment.

“I believe in my players. So far, our team has won five victories in the domestic league matches and the third victory was not related to the results of the first-stage matches. Nevertheless, I don’t exclude first-stage results, because they have great influence on the psychology of players,” said the chief coach of the April 25 Team.

Choe Song Hyok, player of the April 25 Team, said: “Spectators hold great expectation for our team. If our team comes second or third, they regard it as our failure. In the last season, we failed to win victory, and this time we will make up for the loss. To this end, all the players will do their best for the team’s victory.”

At present, the Ryomyong and Sobaeksu teams are the toughest rivals of the April 25 Team.

The Ryomyong snatched the victory in the league finals by seeing off the April 25 Team in the final match of the third stage in the 2023-2024 DPRK premier league.

And the team registered 1-1 draw in the fight with the latter in the first match of the first-stage league matches.

The Sobaeksu is employing the tactics of a marathon runner, who tries to overtake the leading runner at the decisive moment after following him closely.

In the past league matches, it was often placed behind the April 25 in the rankings, and this time, too, it came second in the first-stage league matches to follow the April 25.

If the April 25 wins again, it will be the sixth win in the domestic league matches.

Meanwhile, the Amnokgang Team leads others in the first-stage matches of the women’s premier league.